Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland .. - National Library of Scotland

PEEBLESPEEBLESa charter of confirmation in 1506, and, during thegreater part of his reign, was very prosperous. Thequietness that had lasted during it served only to increasethe disturbance and tumult that broke out afterhis death. The counties near the border were alwaysliable to be attacked by the English, or to be ravagedin the destructive raid of some hostile elan, and hencethe burgesses of Peebles did well to surround their townwith a wall, even though that was not of the strongest.In 1547, an expedition set out from Peebles to besiegeand recover the house of Langhup, held at that timeby the English. In December 1565, Darnley visitedPeebles. Different reasons are assigned for his sojournin it. One account says that he was sent thitlier bythe Queen ; another, that he came seeking more congenialpleasures than those afforded by the capital ; athird, that he came to it in order to have an interviewwith his father, the Earl of Lennox, unknown to theQueen. The next notice of interest with regard to thetown occurs in 1604. In that year, there was, asBirrel relates in his Diary of Events in Scotland, ane'grate fyre in Peibleis town.' This destroyed a largepart of what had been built again after 1545. In 1645,the plague, which had been causing terrible devastationelsewhere, reached Peebles, and created a panic amongthe inhabitants. One result was, that for a time, there'was no meeting of the congregation for fear of thepestilence.' While terror was thus inspired by theplague, anxiety, almost as great in extent, thoughdifferent in cause, was occasioned by the victoriousprogress of the Marquis of Montrose. After havingbeen defeated at PhUiphaugh (13 Sept. 1645), he fled toPeebles, where he sought to gain the assistance of someof the neighbouring lairds, in which attempt, however,he was far from being successful. Five years later, adivision of Cromwell's army was stationed at Peebles.It is said that the soldiers found stabling for theirhorses in the Church of St Andrew, while they wereattempting to reduce Neidpath Castle, held by LordYester. Twenty years after the former visitation,Peebles was again full of terror lest the plague shouldbreak out among them. The ravages of this— the GreatPlague—were confined to England and Ireland, andScotland escaped unharmed.In the struggles of the Covenanters after a simplerworship and a purer faith Peebles took a conspicuouspart, and, at the battle of Bothwell Brig, many fromthe parish were present. The rebellion of 1715 had notaffected Peebles, but in 1745, it had to receive a divisionof the Pretender's army, which was marching intoEngland by way of Moffat. According to R. Chambers'saccount in the History of the EehMion of 1745-6, theHighlanders showed a quite unlooked-for aspect ofcharacter, behaving with moderation, such as they werenever expected to display.In his history of the burgh. Chambers gives a mostminute account of the way in which, on one pretenceor on another, the property in land belonging to Peebleswas frittered away, chiefly in the 18th century. Suchproperty consisted for the most part of extensive commonsin different parts of the parish. Of these, Caidmuir,Kings Muir, Glentress, Hamildean Hill, Eshiels,Venlaw, may be mentioned. For long it clung to tliefragments that were left—Heathpool Common, a smallpiece of Glentress and the farm of Shielgreen, but these,too, eventually had to be parted with.AVhen the ' scare,' caused by the anticipated invasionof Britain by Buonaparte, was at its height, Peeblesshowed much patriotism, and a large number of theable-bodied among the inhabitants enrolled themselvesin the volunteers and yeomanry, as well as in themilitia. Three regiments of militia occupied Peeblesin turn until 1814, when peace was concluded. Theburgh served for a time as the place of residence ofofficers of different nationalities fighting under theFrench flag, who were out on parole. They madethemselves very agreeable, gave representations of stageplays,acted as surgeons, etc., and, by their manners,made a favourable impression upon the inhabitants.364In 1846 great improvements were effected upon thetownat the cost of £1000. 'The High Street wa*lowered two or three feet throughout its entire length ;drains were built, unsightly projecting buOdings andstairs were removed, and the side-ways, so cleared,were laid with pavement. ' Since that date the historyof the burgh has been uneventful. At the same timethe town has gradually advanced to greater beauty thanit once possessed, and now it is almost worthy of itsnearly unique situation beside the waters of the ' silverTweed.'The following well-known Scotsmen have been connectedby birth with Peebles. The fourth Dukeof Queensberry(1725-1810) was born in the building now formingpart of the Chambers Institution, but used at thattime as a town house by the Queensberry family. Hisinfluence in all things pertaining to the burgh wasimmense, and was not always employed for the good ofthe town. Although most extravagant in his habits,'Old Q,' as he was called, possessed at his deathpersonal property to the amount of a million pounds.Sir John Elliot (d. 1786), after a life of adventure at sea,began to practise as a doctor in London. He quicklygained great fame, whose extent is shown by his beingappointed physician to the Prince of "Wales, and by hisbeing created a baronet (1778). William Chambers (1800-1883) and Robert Chambers (1802-1871) may be takentogether, as their success in life was the result of theirunited efforts. They were born in a house in Biggiesknowe,in the Old Town, erected by their father in 1796.In company the two brothers started as publishers, andbrought out Chambers's Journal (1832), an educationalcourse embracing works in many departments of science,literature, etc. ; an encyclopedia in 10 volumes, etc.,etc. Both have also been authors. The writings ofWilliam Chambers are chiefly books of travel andpapers on various questions, which as a rule appearedin the Magazine, besides a memoir of his brother (1872 ;new ed. 1883). Those of his brother are more ambitiousand varied. They include, among others, Traditio^isof Edinburgh (1824), Popular Rhymes of Scotland (1826),Dictionary of Eminent Scotchmen (1835), RomanticScottish Ballads (1859), Domestic Annals of Scotland(1856-61), Book of Days (1862-63), and Vestiges ofCreation (anon. 1S44 ; acknowledged 1884). RobertChambers also composed songs and ballads. WilliamChambers is chiefly remembered for his gifts to Peeblesand to Edinburgh, of which city he was Lord Provost in1865. The Chambers Institution in his native townhas been already described, and his restoration of StAndrews Tower referred to. During his tenure of officethe capital underwent many improvements, of which th&opening up of the spacious thoroughfare between theSouth Bridge and George IV. Bridge, called ChambersStreet, was not the least important. In 1879 he offeredto restore St Giles' Cathedral at his own cost if certainconditions were complied with. These were arranged,and St Giles' was reopened on 23 May 1883, just threedays after his death. John Yeitch, LL.D. (b. 1829),was educated at the Grammar School, Peebles, from,which he passed to Edinburgh University. He wasappointed Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and Metaphysicsin St Andrews University (1860), and fouryears later was invited to Glasgow University to lectureon the same subjects as Professor of Logic, etc. DrVeitch has written and translated several philosophicalworks, and is the composer of numerous pieces ofpoetry, collected into two volumes called Hillside-Rhymes (1872) and The Tweed and Other Poems (1875).Henry Calderwood, LL.D. (b. 1830), received his educationat the High School, the Institution, and theUniversity of Edinburgh, to the chair of Moral Philosophyin which he was appointed in 1868. Hisprincipal works are The Philosophy of the Infinite (l&H),Handbook of Moral Philosophy (1872), and The PielationsofMind and Brain (1879).The parish of Peebles is chiefly in Peeblesshire,only a small part of it being in Selkirkshire. It isbounded N by Eddleston, E by Innerleithen and Tra-